“This outrageous use of violence to quell protests must come to an end now,” the president said in a statement.

UK Foreign Secretary William Hague said he was “extremely concerned” by reports of deaths and casualties across Syria and urged restraint on the country’s authorities.

“Political reforms should be brought forward and implemented without delay,” he said. “The Emergency Law should be lifted in practice, not just in word.”

Live ammunition

Protesters – said to number tens of thousands – chanted for the overthrow of the regime, Reuters news agency reports.

Video images coming out of Syria show footage of many confrontations where live ammunition was used.

President Bashar al-Assad‘s lifting of the emergency had been seen as a concession to the protesters.

In their first joint statement since the protests broke out, activists co-ordinating the mass demonstrations demanded the establishment of a democratic political system.

Political unrest in Syria developed after revolts elsewhere in the Arab world, which saw the downfall of the Tunisian and Egyptian presidents and an ongoing civil war in Libya.

At least 260 people are said to have died since it began last month.

‘Rain of bullets’

The state news agency Sana said only that security forces had used tear gas and water cannon “to prevent clashes between protesters and citizens and protect public property”, and “some” people had been injured.

The crowds across Syria are proof if any was needed that Mr Assad’s concessions were belated and too symbolic.

Some protesters may have seen them as a sign of weakness and felt emboldened. They may be right on some level – the violent reaction from security forces shows the Syrian authorities are becoming increasingly nervous about the crowds.

But the persistence of the demonstrations shows the growing strength and confidence of the protest movement. There is also a newfound sense of community in Syria where people kept apart by fear for years in a police state are finding comfort and strength in numbers on the street.

This Friday’s protests had been in the making for a week. Activists told me they did not expect much from Mr Assad. They also fear that if they do not keep up the pressure, they will lose momentum.

Their demands vary and not all want the removal of Mr Assad. With the protesters and the Syrian president both eager to show they are not going anywhere, the confrontation may only get bloodier.

Deaths were reported by opposition activists and witnesses in Ezra, a village near the flash-point southern town of Deraa, and the Douma suburb of Damascus, as well as the Damascus district of Barzeh, the city of Homs and other areas of the country.

In Ezra, shooting began when protesters marched to the village mayor’s office, and one of the dead is said to be a boy of 11.

“Bullets started flying over our heads like heavy rain,” a witness was quoted as saying by the Associated Press news agency.

A witness in Douma told Reuters he had helped carry three people with bullet wounds to their legs.

One resident in Homs, a city of 700,000 people in the west, told the BBC she had heard shooting and believed three separate protests were under way in the city.

“The security forces are just dispersing the protesters using live bullets,” said the resident, who did not wish to be named.

In Hama, a city in central Syria similar in size to Homs, security forces are said to have also opened fire on a crowd of protesters.

International news organisations are largely refused entry to Syria at the moment, limiting the scope of the information they can gather about events there.

The demands issued by the “Syrian local organising committees” include:

An end to torture, killings, arrests and violence against demonstrators

Three days of state-sanctioned mourning for deaths so far

An independent investigation into the deaths of protesters and judicial proceedings in the light of evidence revealed

Release of all political prisoners

Reform of Syria’s constitution, including a two-term presidential limit

‘Armed insurrection’

Before the latest violence, the government insisted it was heeding protesters’ demands and President Assad was pushing through a programme of reforms.

Thursday’s concessions included abolishing state security courts and allowing peaceful protests but other laws give the government wide-ranging powers to detain activists and suppress dissent.

The new law requires Syrians to seek permission from the interior ministry for demonstrations. Some lawyers have said this continues to restrict the freedom of assembly in the same way as the emergency law.

President Assad said last week there would be no more “excuse” for demonstrations once the state of emergency had been lifted.

Damascus has also accused Islamist militants, or Salafists, of waging an “armed insurrection” in Homs and Baniyas.

Overall, the unrest poses the gravest threat to President Assad’s rule since he succeeded his father Hafez 11 years ago.

Are you in Syria? Send us your comments using the form below:

Send your pictures and videos to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to61124 (UK) or +44 7725 100 100 (International). If you have a large file you canupload here.

Contribute to the Syrian Cause

ACTION REQUESTED:

Contact your representatives:
Just as President Barack Obama and Congressional leaders called for the resignation of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Libyan President Col. Muammar Qaddafi, so too must they call for the immediate resignation of Syrian President Bashar Assad. His deadly attacks on peaceful demonstrators must be condemned by the U.S., if we truly support democracy and the will of the people.
The Syrian government must immediately stop the killing of civilians, protect peaceful demonstrators, provide open access to medical care, allow free access to humanitarian organizations and international media and expedite serious political and democratic reforms that satisfy the aspirations of the Syrian people.Click here to find your Representative
To find your Congressman: house.gov
To find your Senator: senate.gov
Call the White House: 202-456-1414
Call the U.S. State Department: 202-647-4000 and 202-647-6575
Sen. John Kerry (D-MA), Chairman of Foreign Relation Committee: 202-224-2742
U.N. Secretary Gen. Ban Ki-moon: 212-963-5012 or ecu@un.org
Syrian Embassy: 202-232-6316 or info@syrembassy.net

Subscribe to our Mailing List

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 42 other followers

If you have information about human rights violations in Syria, contact the International Criminal Court: 011-31(0)70-515-8515, 011-31-(0)70-515-8555 (f), or otp.informationdesk@icc-cp.int

Press freedom group fights to raise awareness of the plight of war reporter Austin Tice who was detained by an unknown group in August 2012 It is very doubtful that you have ever heard of Austin Tice. Yet he is a freelance journalist who has been held captive in Syria since August 2012.Too little has been reported about a man who is on the verge of spending […]

Families must find work or enroll in social assistance programs when monthly allowance ends, as Canada responds to transition: ‘We can’t abandon them’Minutes after her 25-hour flight touched down in Toronto, Shoruk Alsakni burst into tears.Some four years earlier, she – along with her husband, mother-in-law and six children – had fled the growing violence an […]